Wonder what’s bugging your teen? It’s hard to be certain when all your son does is grunt and your daughter won’t stop rolling her eyes. So rather than pressing our own kids to talk—not going to happen!—we asked teenagers from around the country what messages they wish they could share with their moms and dads. Sure, every child is different, but it may do you and your teen some good if you took these truthful kids’ concerns to heart.

1. She needs privacy.
“I hate that my parents don’t give me any personal space,” says Eleanor, 14. “And I hate that they don’t think I need it.” Even if your children share a room, give each child an area that’s off-limits to everyone else in the family (including you), such as a desk or a spare closet. To show that you respect your teen’s privacy, don’t rummage through her personal space unless you have a concrete reason to believe that she’s lying to you or hiding something serious. And remember: “All kids today are doing drugs” isn’t a concrete reason.

Music lessons in childhood may result in changes in the brain that persist for life

When children learn to play a musical instrument, they acquire a range of auditory skills. Many studies show that these benefits extend all through life, at least for those who continue to be engaged with music.

However, the first study to prove that music lessons in childhood may result in changes in the brain that persist years after the lessons have stopped was published last month.

Researchers at Northwestern University in the U.S. recorded the electrical brain waves of college students in response to complex sounds. The group of students with musical training in childhood had better responses since their brains were better able to pick out essential elements in the complex sounds when they were tested. And this was true even for people who had stopped with their lessons years ago.